Real Madrid has taken the next step towards the Spanish league title. Coach Carlo Ancelotti's team won 1-0 against Sevilla thanks to a late goal from substitute Luka Modric. The match was preceded by the return of Sergio Ramos, club legend of Real Madrid. Thanks to the victory the Royal eight points clear of closest pursuer FC Barcelona. Girona, which has played one game less, follows on nine points. Sevilla is fifteenth, six points above the finish line.

On the Real Madrid side, VinÃcius Júnior and Rodrygo were in the striker. Ancelotti was unable to have Jude Bellingham, among others, who is struggling with an ankle injury. Partly for that reason, Brahim DÃaz was allowed to show it from the start. It was a special match for Sergio Ramos. The centre-back returned to the club with Sevilla where he became a legend. The veteran was put in the spotlight beforehand.

Real Madrid thought they could take the lead early in the match through Lucas Vázquez, who finished at the far post after an excellent attack. However, the Spaniard's goal was canceled when referee Isidro DÃaz de Mera Escuderos saw on the VAR screen that Nacho Fernández had committed a foul on Youssef En-Nesyri.

Real Madrid became particularly threatening on the left side, although there was often a lack of presence in front of the goal. Sevilla had little to no grip on Real Madrid's agile attackers, who did not do enough with possession. Chances remained scarce, although the Andalusians' goal was shot at several times just before half time. For example, Aurélien Tchouaméni shot into the side netting from the turn and Sevilla goalie Ørjan Nyland had an excellent answer to a cannonball from Federico Valverde.

Shortly after halftime, Isaac Romero should have made it 0-1. The Spaniard was played with complete freedom and saw his shot go over via Andriy Lunin. It seemed to be an expensive miss, if Rodrygo could not crown his excellent dribbling with a shot between the posts. VinÃcius Júnior also proved to be a plague for Sevilla's defense, which kept its goal clean thanks to an excellent Nyland.

Slowly but surely, the Bernabéu thought about a draw. However, substitute Modric thought differently about that. The Croat picked up a falling ball and shot with his right through the inside of the post: 1-0. Sevilla claimed that the goal should have been disallowed due to alleged offside by Antonio Rudiger, but the referee did not agree.

Goldcrest ???????????? ??
As a substitute, the Croatian makes the difference for the Madrid team and, after a long wait, gives the home team the lead: 1-0 ?????#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #RealMadridSevillaFC pic.twitter.com/EUnfhg7RLl

— Ziggo Sport Voetbal (@ZS_Voetbal) February 25, 2024

In the final phase, Sevilla tried to force something. However, coach Quique Sánchez Flores' team created little and did not often end up in Real Madrid's sixteen. The danger therefore had to come from standard situations, but even in these situations the threat largely did not materialize. Real Madrid took the lead and confirmed its status as title favorite.

More sports news